Elinor Ostrom

Indiana University

Elinor Ostrom is an American political scientist. She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which she shared with Oliver E. Williamson, for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons". She is the first woman to win the prize in this category. She is also the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science, and Co-Director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University Bloomington. In addition, she is the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity at Arizona State University.